The All-Star race has been a hot topic over the last few years. Should it stay the same? Should it change? How can we do it? The race has offered a million-dollar prize for three decades now; should that grow? This year, NASCAR offered the teams to “race what you brung,” with almost all of the teams refusing the idea due to exponential potential costs.

Well, I’ve got an idea that could eliminate all of that. Look at stick and ball sports. Their All-Star events typically include athletes from multiple teams competing against each other. Why can’t we do something of that nature?

The Prize

$2.25 million, $1 million to the pit crew, $1 million to the driver, and $250,000 to the teams to cover expenses.

Qualifying for the Event

• Race Winners from the current and previous seasons
• Active previous champions
• An invitation for past Cup champions from the past decade.
• Up to 20 cars
• 1 Fan Vote Driver if there are fewer than 20 competitors

The Car

NACAR is the Chassis provider for every single Cup Series team. Every Part. So, why would it be too much to ask NASCAR to provide the cars? Keep them like IROC cars from back in the day—no adjustments, no setups, just the driver and pit crews using NASCAR-provided equipment. And let’s make it unique—the EV. NACAR can build these with generic bodies or allow OEM bodies. This allows the teams to compete at minimal costs.

Let’s make it as fair as possible. As mentioned above, stick and ball sports typically mix players from multiple teams into a “super team.” Well, we can’t exactly do that in NASCAR, so keeping the cars spec provides that common ground that could allow the driver and crew to stand out. No teams will have a financial advantage.

The Format

Qualifying would be precisely as it is currently. A flying lap, into the pits, and complete one full lap after. The Fastest Pit Crew wins the Pit Crew Challenge, and the fastest overall time wins the Pole.

There will be two segments: the first sprint to a set number of laps, followed by a live pitstop to swap tires before the final race segment to the win. Cut and dry and simple. No gimmicks needed. Just the best of the best racing straight up.

Image Credit: General Motors